Second Chances of the Soul
by 55artix
Summary: Post Endgame Fix-it. Natasha and Tony end up in the soul realm after death. Loki, Gamora, and Vision are also there. After a strange Earthquake occurs on the soul realm, Natasha and Tony find themselves in their past bodies, back during the events of Iron Man 2. Together, they resolve to change the past and fix all their mistakes, and ultimately stop Thanos.
1. Chapter 1: The Soul Realm

Natasha wandered around the soul world, bored out of her mind. After all, there wasn't much to do there. There was no technology, and no outside threats, just a never ending orange landscape. There were three other people there, including Loki, Vision, and Gamora. She'd gotten to know all of them very well during her time here. Natasha wasn't sure how long she'd been there. There was no concept of time in the soul world, no day and night. She spent most of her days (nights?) there sparring with Gamora, telling stories with Vision, and thwarting Loki's attempts at pranking her.

She often thought about her teammates. No, not just her teammates, her family. She wondered if they'd managed to beat Thanos. God, she hoped so. She thought about Clint, and the dead look in his eyes without his family. Becoming a man full of vengeance and rage, born out of trauma and grief. She thought about all of them, hoping that they'd be able to carry on and finish what they'd started without her. She missed them all dearly, but that was a small price to pay to bring them all back. As much as it pained her to admit, she even missed Tony with all of his snark and wit, not that she'd ever admit that to anyone.

"Miss me Agent Romanoff?" A familiar voice asked sarcastically.

"You've got to be shitting me," Natasha muttered. "Seriously Stark? After my brave and honorable sacrifice you just had to go and outdo me by getting yourself killed as well? God, no one else was supposed to die. Also, it sucks that I'll have to share the memorials and shrines of myself with you." Natasha took a breath and looked Tony in the eye, "It's good to see you Tony," she said sincerely. Natasha closed the distance between them and walked over to where Tony was standing and embraced him. Even on the soul world, he smelled like a mixture of Axe Body Spray, sweat, and motor oil.

"Yeah, well, I was never one to let someone else take the spotlight. I am after all, Tony Stark: genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, extraordinaire," Tony cheekily responded after accepting the embrace.

Natasha and Tony spent some time catching up, with Tony filling her in on what had happened on Earth since her death. Natasha couldn't help the tears that built up in her eyes as she listened to Tony. He told her about reuniting with his kid, only to die right in front of him. She was relieved that they'd won, but couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of regret. _If only we could go back one last time, have a second chance to fix things._

"So...where exactly are we? No offense Widow, I'm glad you're here and all, but this place doesn't exactly scream 'heaven' to me," Tony said as his eyes wandered and took in the endless orange landscape.

"From what I've gathered, we're in the soul world. Loki told me that the stones are sentient, and hold onto the souls of those it feels a strong connection to. It's a way of preserving our...souls? I guess."

"Wait...Reindeer Games? He's here? What the fuck? Now I definitely know that this shithole isn't heaven."

"Oh yeah, I may have forgotten some details about this place. Vision and Gamora are here too."

"Quill's girlfriend and my robot child? Is that it? And if they're here, then where the hell are they?" Tony asked, once again glancing around as if expecting them all to appear in midair.

"You know? That's actually a good question. I usually don't go this long without seeing at least one of them. I swear Loki can't go five minutes without trying to sneak up on me...he fails every time," Natasha smirked.

"You actually hang out with that maniac? Do you not remember the time he invaded New York with a shitton of aliens under Thanos's orders?" Tony asked incredulously.

"He's actually not as batshit crazy as we made him out to be. Apparently the whole alien invasions thing back in 2012 wasn't him at all, it was Thanos. He was being mind controlled the same way Clint was, only, by Thanos. He's still a bit sadistic and annoying though, but I can handle that."

Tony went silent for a minute while he processed the information. _Reindeer Games isn't a complete psychopath? What the fuck? Maybe I should've had a drink with him after all. Nah, he's a bit too flashy and irritating to be friends with me._

Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake and the orange dust blew around them as wind picked up. "Uh...Nat? Does this happen often?"

Natasha maintained a poker face to hide her fear. "No this hasn't happened before. I wonder if it has something to do with why we haven't seen Vision, Gamora, or Loki for a while."

Suddenly, Tony disappeared into a cloud of orange dust. "STARK!" Natasha screamed. "TONY COME BACK HERE YOU ASSHOLE! YOU CAN'T JUST SHOW UP HERE AND LEAVE ME LIKE THAT!" Natasha cried in desperation. What the hell was happening? Wasn't dying once enough? Was this the universe's way of getting back at her for all the horrible things she'd done as an assassin?

Before Natasha knew it, she felt herself being lifted into a pile of orange dust. _I guess I'm going to hell for real this time._


	2. Chapter 2:Natalie Rushman

Chapter 2

YO so I was gonna wait to post the second chapter but y'all were so nice with your reviews that I'm double updating in 1 day.

"It's called dirty boxing, there's nothing new about it." _What the fuck? Happy? Why the fuck am I back in my destroyed Malibu mansion? _

Tony stared into space, taking in his surroundings. Everything seemed real, but the question was, why did the afterlife send him back to 2011?

"I promise this is the only time I'll ask you to sign over your company." Pepper's voice dragged Tony out of his stupor. _Pepper? Why is she here too? There's no way she died too! I saw her alive as she said goodbye? _Unless...he'd somehow gone back in time. But why? How? Suddenly, Tony spotted Natasha out of the corner of his eye. He stared at her, wondering if she was the Natasha he knew, or the spy parading around as Natalie to extract information from him. Natasha stared back meaningfully, but like always, it was impossible to get a read on her.

"Lesson one, never take your eyes off-" Tony turned around and punched Happy in the face before asking Natasha, "Hey Red! You got a name?"

"Rushman. Natalie Rushman. My friends call me Nat," Natasha responded with a slight wink.

Tony breathed in a sigh of relief. This was _his_ Natasha, he didn't know what he'd do if he was stuck in the past alone. "Well Miss Rushman, I gotta say, you seem more like a secret agent than a legal representative who models in Tokyo." He might as well be annoying with her secret identity. It was only fair to get payback for her spying on him in the first place.

Natasha responded with an eye roll, but seemed to feel a sense of relief as well.

Remembering how satisfying it was to watch her take down Happy the first time around, he invited her into the ring as he began walking over to Pepper.

Natasha stopped him midway through and whispered, "Meet me in your lab after you sign over the company. We have a lot of things to discuss." Tony nodded at her as he walked over to Pepper. God, Pepper, she was so beautiful and amazing. He was instantly reminded of Morgan, and sadness instantly overtook him. _Will Morgan even exist in this timeline if we fuck it up? God, I hope so. _

"Hey Pep," Tony nearly went in for a kiss before he remembered that they weren't technically dating yet.

"Do you know her or something? Natalie? Oh god, did you sleep with her?" Pepper responded. _Hmmm...is that jealousy I detect?_

"No! Of course not! I don't even know who she is. Besides, she isn't my type. Why do you ask? It isn't like I was ogling her or anything," Tony replied, using Pepper's line.

"You just seemed like you knew her from somewhere. Just keep in mind that she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you try anything inappropriate."

"Aw Pep, you underestimate me sometimes." He stared at her for a good minute, just taking in the fact that she was there with him. His beautiful wife that he thought he'd never see again. _I'm going to be so much better for you this time Pep, I promise._

There was an audibly loud _BANG _as Happy was wrestled to the floor and placed into a headlock by a smirking Natasha.

"OH MY GOD! HAPPY!" Pepper exclaimed. Tony just chuckled to himself and gave Natasha a thumbs up from afar.

"Mr Stark? I need your fingerprint and signature." Tony nodded at Natasha and signed in the correct places.

Just as Natasha was about to leave, Tony added, "By the way, you're hired. For the new assistant position."

"Wait...what?" asked Pepper.

"Sounds good Mr Stark. I'll see you soon." Natasha walked out, presumably to Tony's lab.

XXXXXXX

Natasha smirked as she "broke in" to Tony's lab. Getting into Tony's lab was so much easier now that she knew all of his security override codes.

Natasha paced around Tony's lab nervously, trying to collect her thoughts. So she and Tony had gone back in time, that much was obvious. The question was, how and why had it happened? And what were they going to change? There were so many variables when it came to messing with time and they couldn't risk changing things up so much that their foreknowledge became useless.

"Well, Agent Romanoff, you asked to speak with me, and I have generously showed up. It really doesn't happen often, I usually blow people off."

"Oh my god Tony! I swear, out of all the people I had to be stuck in the past with, the universe chose you. I swear, it's like it _wants _me to suffer," Nat replied jokingly. She walked over to Tony and gave him a hug before whispering, "You scared me for a minute there when you disappeared into that orange tornado. Do you try to give the people around you heart attacks?"

"Nah, I just like to make an entrance, and an even grander exit. It's sorta my thing you know. Also, I feel like we've hugged more in the past day or however long it's been than we ever did before we died. You getting soft on me Romanoff?"

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Maybe I am. Can you blame me? Half the universe disappeared and I died trying to bring them back only to find that you ended up dying too. I think I deserve to be a little softer than an emotionless spy."

Tony worked on synthesizing Starknium so he wouldn't have to deal with the poison the palladium was causing him. Natasha helped where she could, and the two of them discussed their immediate plans for what they'd change.

"Well I think we first need to focus on taking out Ivan Vanko before Justin Hammer gets his hands on him. We don't need another fiasco with murder bots at your expo again," Natasha suggested as Tony investigated some specs on a hologram.

"Well, how do you suggest we do that? It's not like we can just track him down and murder him right now. He hasn't even done anything yet."

"He and Hammer are both going to be there in Monaco. I can take care of Hammer, I've got some dirt on him that'll have him selling his company and fleeing to another country. You, on the other hand, are going to build your nanotech suit and wear it to the event. Go drive that race car like you did last time and take him down easily with his new tech. After he's been taken into the prison, I can get Fury to take him into SHIELD custody," Natasha responded.

"I'm sorry, are we talking about the same SHIELD that is currently being overrun by HYDRA? Wouldn't this just be giving them another dangerous asset that they can use?" Tony asked.

"I'll admit that it isn't a perfect plan. It is however, the best thing we can do short of killing him. SHIELD's got more secure containment cells, and Fury's got a separate branch of them that even the higher ups don't even know about. If I can convince him to take Vanko in covertly, then no one but Fury, Hill, Barton, and a few others will know where he is. He won't be able to escape in there, all those containment cells are strong enough to hold in the Hulk," Natasha replied.

"Damn, Fury's got his own secret prison? Why am I not surprised? Anyway, that's great for an immediate plan and everything, but what do you think we should do with everything else? I've never been a huge fan of lists and everything but I'm willing to make an exception just this once for the sake of the universe."

Five hours later, Tony had not only finished synthesizing the element and replacing the palladium core with Starknium, but he'd also finished building his first nanotech suit in this timeline. It wasn't as perfect as his other ones, but it was the best that he could do with the limited amount of time he had. Afterwards, Natasha and Tony ended up making a list of priorities.

Take care of Ivan Vanko and Justin Hammer.

Get Rhodey his War Machine armor.

Find a way to cognitively re-calibrate Loki and hopefully bring him on as an Avenger.

Find Barnes and reverse the mind control.

"We've got to be careful with how we handle this. We can't risk anyone finding out as that could seriously fuck up everything," Natasha warned Tony. When Tony failed to respond, she noticed that he was no longer adding ideas to the list, but looking at pictures of a young boy. Peter Parker. Spider-man. Natasha had never met the kid face to face, but she'd exchanged pleasantries with a very starstruck Spider-man before the airport battle. He seemed like a nice kid, and she knew that Tony saw him as a son. She put her hand on his shoulder, "you okay Tony?"

"I know I can't just knock on his door and go see him...but I just need to know that he's okay. He was gone for five years..._five years _Nat. Then we barely get a five minute reunion before I'm dying right in front of him? God, I miss the kid so much. He's only ten years old right now, which is crazy, I didn't even know him back then. I wonder if I should get involved at all, maybe he'd be better off without me interfering," Tony replied sadly.

"From what I've heard, he loved you as much as you loved him. You were a father to him Tony, and knowing you, you care too much to just let it go," Natasha said carefully, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Sir? Miss Potts would like me to inform you that your plane to Monaco leaves in an hour," Jarvis interrupted the moment. _Man, it is so nice to hear Jarvis again. As much as I love Friday, Jarvis meant the world to me._

"Well, it's showtime _Natalie,_" Tony teased, trying to hide how nervous he was.

XXXXXXXX

The plan with Hammer and Vanko worked like a charm. While Natasha blackmailed Hammer with pictures and voice recordings of him being involved in the deaths of his past business partners, Tony took on Vanko after being confronted on the racetrack. Vanko's primitive technology was no match to Tony's nanotech suit, and Tony defeated him without even getting a scratch.

Natasha confirmed that Fury had managed to get Vanko transferred to his private containment cells, and that no one "untrustworthy" knew about it. It seemed like their plan was off to a perfect start. Hopefully it would stay that way…


	3. Chapter 3: Months Before the Avengers

Chapter 3

"Hey Tones, you doing alright? I heard what happened in Monaco a couple days ago with that dude with the-" Rhodey stopped mid-sentence when he saw Natasha casually lying on a table in Tony's lab while Tony made some adjustments to his nanotech armor. It was a strange sight for anyone who knew Tony, as despite his public persona, was a very private person. The only people who had access to the lab were those that he trusted most, and Rhodey never seen this woman in his life.

"Oh, hey Honey-Bear! Just the man I was looking for! I've got a little gift for you buddy!" Tony replied, not looking up from his work. "And are you seriously asking me if I'm alright? Did you even see that fight? That dude had nothing on me!" Tony quipped. "By the way, this is Natash-, I mean, Natalie, Natalie Rushman."

"Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes," Rhodey introduced himself as he shook Natasha's hand. "What's this I hear about a gift? Also, before I forget, I'm still cleaning up the aftermath from that mess of a press conference. Senator Stern is trying to use your fight with that guy as evidence that people are succeeding in mimicking your technology. He's on my ass to get you to hand it over. I'm trying to get them to settle down but it's a hard sell when there's evidence of a guy with fully functional techy whiplashes! I don't know what you want me to do Tony-"

"Hey there, slow your roll Sour Patch. Is this how people respond to gifts these days, with lectures?" Tony rolled his eyes. "I'm not concerned about what some pin stabbing senator thinks of my suits, I've got bigger fish to fry." Tony gestured to a gray and black suit, "by the way, that's yours if you want it. As long as you promise not to hand it over to Senator 'Fuck you Mr Stark' or the grubby little hands of any other government officials."

"Are you drunk? I thought I'd have to steal one of these things and fight you for you to ever let me wear one of these."

"Look buddy, I'm going to be serious for a minute. Okay, maybe a few minutes, five minutes maximum, I'd go crazy if I was forced to be serious for longer than that." Tony took a deep breath, "I have a feeling, no, not just a feeling, I know that things aren't going to stay nice for long. There's something bigger out there, and when it comes, we, as in Earth, need the best defenders we can get. Look I know you probably think I'm just paranoid, but Rhodey, I'm a futurist, I see things. Things and situations that could cost us _everything_," Tony sighed before continuing. "I know that I don't say it enough, but you're the best friend that I could ever ask for. No, you're more than my best friend, you're my brother, and one of the men I know. I trust you more than anything so I need you to trust me on this too. Just, be careful with that suit and _please _don't hand it over to anyone...capisce?" Tony asked.

"Okay Tones, I'll trust you on this. Don't worry, I'll stand with you through whatever comes our way, as long as aliens don't fall out of the sky," Rhodey chuckled. "Also, how did you two meet?" Rhodey asked, gesturing to Natasha and Tony. Rhodey faced Natasha, "I've never seen you before, so forgive me if it's a little weird that you're just casually hanging out in here like chummy old friends. Tony never lets anyone into his lab, even Happy gets locked out of here half the time. Shit, are you two sleeping together?" Rhodey asked.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? I know I'm an expert playboy, but I am perfectly capable of having female friends for more than their anatomy," Tony protested the accusation.

"Mr Stark and I met while he was signing over his company to Miss Potts. I'm from legal, and he decided to make me his assistant. I needed a new job, so I accepted," Natasha responded.

_Okay...well, that cleared up nothing, but whatever. Tony's always surprising me with random shit. _After some more banter with Tony and Natasha, Rhodey finally tried on the suit. He had an easier time piloting the suit right off the bat, probably due to his military training.

"See Platypus, you're a natural. What should we call you...Iron Patriot?" Tony snickered, unable to keep a straight face at the ridiculous name.

"What? Hell no...that sounds like the name of a boy scout trying and failing to be a badass. My name's War Machine," Rhodey declared proudly.

"Wow...War Machine? You say that like you had that planned out for months," Tony snickered.

"Whatever man, it's a cool name! Don't come at me like that! It's better than the dumbass 'Iron Patriot' name you came up with!" Rhodey exclaimed. Tony responded by putting his hands up in surrender. "Okay, if we're done here I'm gonna take my new suit for a joy ride," Rhodey said before leaving.

XXXXXXXXXXX

After Natasha left to...actually, Tony wasn't really sure what the former assassin did during her free time. But nonetheless, after Natasha left, Tony spent his time spying, no, checking on Peter. After all, it was the correct thing to do, _right_? At the moment Peter was a fourth grader at Midtown Elementary in the Gifted and Talented Program. Like the little genius he was, he'd already won the school's science fair two years in a row.

As Tony looked through all the photos of Peter that JARVIS could find, he knew he wouldn't be able to stay away from the kid. Though in this timeline, there was no guarantee that the kid would see him as a father. After all, Uncle Ben was still alive, and Tony would be damned if he let the uncle that Peter loved so much die again. Tony knew that Ben Parker had been killed by a mugger in the Parkers' apartment on December 8, 2015. He had comforted the teen on the two year anniversary of his uncle's death. Tony didn't have a concrete plan yet, but he was planning to find a way to get the Parkers out of their apartment on that fateful night.

Some time after, Tony began to drift off at his desk.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Mr Stark? I don't feel so good…_

_I don't wanna go...please sir, I don't wanna go…_

_We won Mr Stark...we won...you did it sir..._

_I'm sorry Tony…_

_We're going to be okay Tony…_

_You can rest now..._

"Tony? Wake up Tony. You're okay, you're not in Afghanistan anymore, you're home. Tony?" Pepper gently nudged Tony's shoulder.

"Pep? What happened? Where's Peter? Is Morgan here?" Tony asked groggily.

Pepper furrowed her eyebrows, "Who's Peter, and who's Morgan?"

Suddenly the memories came rushing back to him. The third snap, his death, the cries of Rhodey, Peter and Pepper as he passed, _the time travel._ God, he'd really gone back in time and once again, the universe was depending on him. _Shit, I need to breathe._

"Tony? Are you okay? Just breathe with me, okay?" Pepper gently rubbed his arm as she quietly counted to ten.

After Tony calmed down, he couldn't help himself and hugged Pepper tightly. He'd lost so much, and he needed the reassurance that she was actually there with him. They were both okay and _alive. _

Pepper initially flinched in surprise from the hug, but quickly hugged him back. "Tony I-" she began.

"Nuh uh, let me start. You've taken such good care of me all these years. You stood by me when I was at my worst, and didn't care enough to be better. You were one of the reasons I believed that I _could_ be better. You've done everything for me and hell, you do everything better than me. I mean, for god's sake, you're running my company for me. I know that I am infuriating to be around sometimes, and you have got to be the most patient and strong woman that I have ever met. I can't believe it's taken me so long to say it, but, I love you Pep, so much. I love you 3000," the phrase that Morgan coined slipped out.

"Wow...you love me 3000? That is...a large number? I mean, you've never mentioned anything like that before. I don't...I don't know what to say," Pepper responded, obviously flustered. "I mean, one moment you're doing something really dangerous and nearly getting yourself killed, and the next moment you love me and you're extremely uncharacteristically sweet? I just, I love you too, but I never know if you're going to kill yourself, or destroy your own company, the company I'm trying to run by the way-"

Tony cut Pepper off mid sentence and kissed her. God, he'd wanted to do that for so long. Pepper leaned in and kissed him back, both of them sharing a moment of relief.

"Dude, get a room," a voice interrupted the moment. "You look like two seals fighting over a grape."

Pepper and Tony jumped apart in shock to find Rhodey standing at the door of the lab in his War Machine suit. "What the fuck? How long have you been standing there?" Tony asked accusingly.

"Long enough to want to barf. Like seriously, you two need to find a less disgusting way to kiss, that was awful. It's not like I was trying to be invisible, I literally made a ton of noise coming in, and this suit isn't exactly camouflage or anything. But seriously, it took you two long enough. I thought I'd have to see you guys awkwardly dance around your feelings for another few years," Rhodey responded. "I'll just...leave you two to fight over that grape." Rhodey turned to leave.

Tony and Pepper spent a good thirty seconds looking at each other before they bursted into laughter. "That was good right? That wasn't weird?" Pepper asked.

"I mean other than the fact that my best friend was creepily watching it happen from the corner of the room it wasn't weird at all," Tony looked at Pepper fondly. "By the way, what was it that you came down for anyway?" Tony asked.

"I just wanted to let you know that the company's gotten a ton of complaints after you failed to show up at the Queens expo yesterday. You were supposed to do a presentation and a personal tour for a select few VIP members," Pepper replied.

Well shit, he forgot. _Can you blame me though? I mean, I agreed to do it before I came back in time, and you can't seriously expect me to remember that? Plus, it's my assistant's job to remind me of this shit, so if anything, this is totally Natasha's fault. _

XXXXXXX

The next day, Tony made an appearance at the Stark Expo. After making an entrance with the suit and doing his typical 'I am Iron Man' speech on stage, he walked over to the VIP section for the private tour. He was fairly certain that he blew off the tour the first time around, but he figured that he might as well make some fans happy this time around. Plus, he didn't want to get on Pepper's bad side when things were currently going so well.

Suddenly, he felt a child bump right into his legs. He looked down to find a small child wearing an Iron Man mask. _Hey, it's that kid who stood up to those Hammer Bots. _"Peter! Come back here!" A familiar voice screamed.

"Sorry Aunt May, but it's Mr Stark! He's here!" A young boy exclaimed.

Tony turned around to find a younger May Parker running after her nephew, with Ben Parker following close behind. "I'm so sorry Mr Stark, he's just such a huge fan of your work," May said. "Don't worry, I'll get him out of your way." May turned over to Peter, "Come on buddy, Mr Stark is a very busy man and we can't be interrupting him."

Tony turned toward May and Ben, "it's not a problem at all." He bent down to Peter's level and said, "hey kid, I'm Tony. What's your name?"

Peter kept his mask on, seemingly at a loss of words. Ben gently nudged his nephew on the shoulder. "Hey, it's okay Pete, introduce yourself to Mr Stark."

Peter slowly took off his mask and shyly said, "I'm Peter." Peter looked at the ground before nervously rambling. "I'm a huge fan of your work in arc reactor technology and clean sustainable energy. I've read all of your papers and reports and I think you're really awesome Mr Stark! Not that Iron Man isn't cool too, because he totally is, but I think you're even cooler."

Tony couldn't help but smile at the kid's rambling. _Damn it, I'm getting teary eyed. This kid's making me a softie. _"Oh yeah? You into science?"

"Yeah! I love science. I like going through the dumpster to find parts to build computers and things," Peter replied with a gleam in his eye.

"How would you all like to come to the VIP section for a personalized tour? It's starting in…" Tony glanced down at his watch. "Actually it started like ten minutes ago so we better hurry. Pepper's going to be on my ass-" May coughed softly, "I mean butt," Tony corrected himself. "Pepper is going to be on my butt if I don't make it there after blowing it off the other day."

"Miss Potts sits on top of your butt?" Peter asked with fake innocence.

"What? No, no, no! It's just an expression! It just means that she'll be really mad and-" Peter snorted. "Wait, you were just messing with me weren't you?" Tony asked accusingly.

Peter just grinned back at him. _Man, I've missed that little shit. _"Anyway, what do you guys say. Want a free tour?" Tony asked.

"Are you sure Mr Stark? We've only paid for general admissions tickets and you're a busy man. We don't want to impose," said Ben.

"Like a said, it's not a problem. I'm always happy to help the next generation of scientists," Tony replied with a grin.

XXXXXXXX

Tony showed the VIP group around the expo, but the only people he paid any attention to were Peter, May, and Ben. Interacting with Peter again brought about a joy that he thought he'd never have again. Even as a child, Peter's intelligence did not fail to impress him.

By the end of the tour, Peter was rambling freely, the initial shyness completely gone. "-And then Ned, my best friend destroyed the entire lego set by accident when he sat on it. We had to rebuild the whole thing but I didn't really mind."

"Hey Pete, I'm starting a junior internship program for young scientists like yourself. I'm only accepting one or two applicants and I think you would be a great fit," Tony said impulsively. _Well that was a complete lie. But if he accepts, I'll get to spend more time with him. _

Peter turned towards his aunt and uncle. "Can I?" he asked.

May looked at Ben before turning to Tony, "Does this internship cost money? I'd love to send Peter over there, but money's a little tight right now and-"

Tony cut her off. "Nope, it's completely sponsored by me. All Peter's gotta do is show up after school hours whenever he can, and he'll work with me in the lab. I just bought a new Headquarters building in New York, so it'll be close to here." _No, I haven't. I can buy the Avengers tower a little earlier this time around though. _

XXXXXXX

After convincing the Parkers to take the "junior internship", Tony purchased the Avengers tower in New York. It didn't take much to convince Pepper to relocate the Stark Industries headquarters to New York. Turns out that she'd been thinking the same thing anyway. After all, most of their contractors and major business partners were located in New York. He built several floors of living quarters on the upper floors in preparation for the Avengers. Pepper moved in with him on his floor, while Natasha and Rhodey moved in on the lower floors.

When Nick Fury showed up to recruit him for his super secret boy band, Natasha once again "revealed her identity". This time around, Tony wasn't as abrasive and accepted the position. To his dismay, his file still claimed that he was volatile and didn't play well with others. _Thanks Natasha. _However, the conclusion summarized that despite these traits, he was willing to make the sacrifice play for the greater good of others, and that both Tony Stark and Iron Man were indeed, recommended.

Peter began coming to the tower everyday after school, and sometimes even came in on the weekends. Happy constantly complained about being a babysitter and having to listen to the kid's incessant rambling. "He never stops talking, never." But Tony could tell that the kid had grown on Happy. After all, Happy did punch that Flash kid after realizing that he was the reason Peter was constantly sporting a black eye. Just like the first time around, Peter was an excitable kid, always eager to please. Unlike the first time though, Tony made sure that he was always accessible to the kid, and made sure that the kid knew just how special he was.

Tony ended up getting the surgery to remove the shrapnel from his chest. Having to wear the arc reactor 24/7 was annoying anyway, and the shrapnel was painful.

A few months went by, and Tony and Natasha searched for the Winter Soldier. They went through the SHIELD, CIA, and FBI files and followed every lead they got. Every lead ended up being a dead end. _Barnes really knows how to hide, doesn't he?_

XXXXXXX

"Sir? My sensors are detecting an abnormal energy surge from the Tesseract. After you asked me to track its heat signature last year, I was able to detect its normal energy release pattern. It is currently radiating an unprecedented amount of energy, which is due to become unstable," Jarvis interrupted Natasha and Tony's bickering. They were once again hanging out in Tony's lab, which had become a regular occurrence.

"Shit. It's two days before the alien invasion! Loki's probably here now. We need to get to P.E.G.A.S.U.S right away," Natasha said frantically.

"JARVIS, let the Parkers know that I'm really sorry, but I won't be able to meet with Peter tonight. Let Peter know that I promise to make it up to him," Tony said before grabbing Natasha and flying off.


	4. Chapter 4: The Invasion Part 1

Chapter 4

As Natasha and Tony landed in front P.E.G.A.S.U.S., a familiar flash of light appeared. The unmistakable sound of thunder that accompanied it vibrated throughout the secret SHIELD base. After the light faded out, the familiar faces of Thor and Loki took its place. Natasha and Tony gave each other confused glances before simultaneously saying, "what the hell are you two doing here?"

Thor instantly put his hands up in surrender before introducing himself and his brother. "We mean Earth no harm. I am Thor, king of Asgard and God of Thunder, and this is my brother Loki, prince of Asgard and God of Mischief. You may recognize us as we defeated the Frost Giants in the place called 'New Mexico' not too long ago. We are here to take the Tesseract back to Asgard. We have many more defenses there and will be able to provide better protection. Your world is currently at risk as many seek the power of the Tesseract. We only seek to protect the Tesseract and your people."

Loki glanced at Natasha and Tony in confusion. He seemed equally surprised to see them there. He continued staring at the two of them thoughtfully for a few seconds before grabbing his brother's arm and dragging him inside the building. "Come on brother, we don't have time for formalities. We need to get the Tesseract before it is stolen by another," Loki said frantically.

The four of them barged into the P.E.G.A.S.U.S. lab at once, only to find Nick Fury waiting for them. "What's this I hear about taking the Tesseract?"

"We only wish to prevent the Tesseract from falling into the wrong hands," Loki replied in a poor attempt to diffuse the situation.

"That sounds like a threat," Fury stated, glowering at Loki menacingly. Fury crossed his arms, turning toward the two brothers. "What makes you think we would willingly give _you _the tesseract? Earth needs protection, and I don't see how giving away the energy source that could be utilized for said protection would benefit our people."

Loki began to open his mouth to respond, when suddenly, a pulse of energy shook the room. "Director Fury, these readings are becoming unstable," Erik Selvig yelled in distress.

A giant blast radiated the room, and Ebony Maw appeared, sceptre in hand. Before Loki could stop him, Thor began charging at Maw with Mjolnir. "Thor wait! Don't let him near you, the sceptre contains the mind stone. Anyone he touches, he can control!" Loki exclaimed.

Loki's words appeared lost on Thor as he continued to head Maw's way. Maw lifted the sceptre, and came within an inch of landing it on Thor's chest. Suddenly, an arrow flew out towards Maw's head, nearly hitting him before he used magic to swipe it away. Clint then revealed himself as he landed in front of Thor, having jumped down from above. It was impossible to miss the slight surge of power and the icy blue that overtook Clint's eyes as he received the hit from the sceptre meant for Thor.

"Clint!" Natasha screamed. _Not again! How did we mess things up already? _Unfortunately, it was too late. Chaos erupted as everyone scrambled to escape from the facility that was due to blow. Tony quickly made his way to the cube, then placed it into a case and handed the Tesseract to Fury, yelling for him to take it away. Maw used the chaos to his advantage, gaining control over Erik Selvig as well as a few other SHIELD agents.

Just as Fury was about to escape with the Tesseract, a mind controlled Clint cornered him, thrusting Fury to the other side of the room, and snatched the Tesseract from his hands. Fury groaned as he sat up, then ran out the door, recognizing defeat.

Even with the help of Thor, Loki, Tony, and Natasha, Ebony Maw managed to make a clean getaway with Clint and Selvig. The combination of the chaos, Maw's magic, and the power of the sceptre paved the way for his escape.

"Guys, we need to get out of here, this place is gonna blow," Tony yelled at the other three. "Hang on Widow!" Tony flew over to Natasha and grabbed her before taking off. Thor grabbed Loki in a similar fashion before flying out with Mjolnir.

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter made his way into the tower, squeezing past all the Stark Industries workers. Being small had its perks, as no one even noticed him sneak by. May and Ben had told him that Mr Stark wouldn't be able to work with him that night, but Peter couldn't shake his feeling that something was wrong. What if Mr Stark was sick? What if he had a dangerous mission? Peter only wanted to help him. As Peter arrived at the door of Tony's lab, he noticed that it was empty. "JARVIS? Where is Mr Stark?" Peter asked.

"My GPS coordinates indicate that Mr Stark has routed his suit back to the tower and should be arriving shortly with Miss Romanoff," JARVIS replied.

"Nat's coming?" Peter asked excitedly. Natasha and Peter had grown particularly close in the current timeline, as she often hung around Tony's lab during Peter's "junior internship".

"Yes, it appears that sir is currently flying with Miss Romanoff," JARVIS said. "Would you like to wait in the lab?"

"Yeah, I'll wait for him," Peter replied. _So Nat and Mr Stark are off doing something. Maybe they are on a mission! Mr Stark said she was some kind of agent. They're probably working together. Mr Stark would never let me help him, he's always super overprotective. He freaks out about me using tools in the lab. But I'll show him that I can help! He just can't know that I'm here. _"Hey JARVIS, can you not tell Mr Stark that I'm here?"

"Since you are not an intruder and have authorized access to all floors in the tower, my code does not require me to inform Mr Stark of your presence unless he specifically asks if you are here," JARVIS responded.

Just as Peter was about to thank JARVIS, he heard the signature sound of the Iron Man armor clanking against the floor of the lab. Peter quickly thrust himself underneath the table, praying that Mr Stark hadn't heard him.

Tony stepped out of his suit after putting Natasha down. "What exactly did we change that would make Reindeer Games show up with Point Break to take the Tesseract back to Asgard? And why is Loki not being mind controlled Thanos this time around? As far as I know, we didn't change anything relating to the events in space...unless...you said Loki was in the Soul World right? Maybe he came back in time too. That might explain why a bunch of blue ice monsters showed up in New Mexico where Thor was banished to. I had a feeling that the whole snafu there had gone down differently last time. Loki must have changed something. Damn, I should've paid more attention to that…" Tony muttered lost in thought. He was kicking himself for not noticing the difference in how the events in New Mexico went down this time around. To be fair, neither he nor Natasha had been present when Thor had fought the Destroyer the first time around. Though from the future, he and Natasha still had gaps in their foreknowledge that had caused an oversight.

Natasha stared at Tony thoughtfully. "JARVIS, pull up that SHIELD file on the events in New Mexico involving Thor," Natasha said.

"As you wish Miss Romanoff," JARVIS responded. Based on the file that JARVIS pulled up, a species called the Frost Giants had attacked New Mexico, presumably targeting Thor. According to Thor's statement, Thor had sacrificed himself while in mortal form, once again becoming "worthy of Mjolnir". Loki had then arrived and helped his brother slay the creatures.

"Okay, that definitely didn't happen last time," Natasha muttered. "We need to talk to Loki and see what he's changed. Thanos must've sent someone else to invade Earth if he never encountered Loki… We need to figure out what he knows, and if he knows who this new alien is," Natasha said.

"Oh, you mean Squidward? He's Thanos's 'son'. I ended up fighting him and blasting him off into space last time. Gotta say, I'm not a huge fan of the guy," Tony replied.

"Well we need to speak to Loki as soon as we can and see what his plan is. But first off, Coulson's tasked me with bringing in Bruce. By the way, what are we even doing back here?" Natasha asked Tony.

Tony walked over to the back of the lab and picked up a remote control. After pressing a button, the back wall opened up to reveal an updated version of a quinjet. "I've got a fully equipped Iron Legion stored on this bad boy, which I thought might come in handy. I also thought we'd fly this thing down to greet our good ol' jolly green friend together. You're not the only one who misses Brucie Bear."

As Peter listened to Natasha and Tony corroborate a plan, he realized that there was indeed a mission, and a dangerous one at that. He didn't quite understand all they were talking about, but from what he understood, there were going to be aliens attacking Earth. Peter quickly ran from under the table to the door of the quinjet, sneaking himself in while Natasha and Tony were distracted by a hologram. He must not have been quiet enough though, because Natasha turned toward the quinjet with a suspicious look on her face. "Tony, did you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" Tony questioned her back. "JARVIS, there isn't an intruder in here, right?"

"No sir, there is no one in the lab without authorized access," JARVIS confirmed.

Even with JARVIS's confirmation that there were no intruders, Natasha still seemed suspicious, but let it go to focus on their main objectives. "Maw is probably going to show up in Germany because he needs the Iridium as a stabilizing agent," Natasha said. "We need to get there as soon as we pick up Bruce."

After agreeing to a plan, Natasha and Tony headed off to the quinjet, not noticing that Peter had hidden himself in the back corner.

XXXXXX

As Bruce Banner followed a young girl to the edge of town, a feeling of dread began to settle in his stomach. This was a setup. His suspicions were confirmed when non other than Tony Stark sat waiting for him inside the hut, along with an attractive red-haired woman. "Should've gotten paid up front Banner," Bruce muttered to himself.

"Dr Banner!" Tony exclaimed. "How are you and your green friend doing these days?"

"So you two brought me to the edge of the city, that's smart," Bruce replied, not answering the question. "I assume that the whole place is surrounded?"

"No Bruce, it's just us and you," Natasha replied carefully.

"Yeah, I don't really play well with others, at least according to her," Tony said while pointing to Natasha. "So I typically avoid working with people that aren't necessary to the cause. Since we don't consider you a threat to us, there's no reason for us to surround the place. Contrary to what you think, you're not a monster. I read the reports you know. That amount of gamma radiation should've killed you."

"So what? You're saying that the Hulk saved me?" Bruce asked skeptically.

"I'm saying that you're here for a reason, and you're resilient," Tony replied sincerely. _Damn, I wish Bruce could see what he becomes in the future. He's way too hard on himself. _

"I'm sorry, I know who you are because how could I not, but who are you?" Bruce questioned, facing Natasha.

"Natasha Romanoff. We're officially here on behalf of SHIELD, but we're also here to recruit you for the Avengers initiative."

"So you two aren't here to kill me? Because I'm warning you right now, that won't work out well for either of us," Bruce replied suspiciously.

"Like we already said, we're not afraid of you Bruce. The fate of the world is at stake, and we think you can help us," Natasha said. "This is the Tesseract," Natasha continued, pulling out her phone to show Bruce. "It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet."

"So what do you want me to do, swallow it?" Bruce asked sarcastically.

"We need your help to find it. It has been taken by Ebony Maw, he's from another planet," Natasha replied.

"So you aren't after the monster?" Bruce asked as he took off his glasses to look Natasha in the eye.

"Not unless it comes to that. We want your help locating the cube before any fight breaks out," Natasha said honestly.

"How do I know you aren't going to throw me in a cage?" Bruce questioned.

"Yeah...I've been held in captivity before. Not really a fan of it, and it'd be pretty hypocritical for me to throw an innocent man in a cage," Tony said.

"STOP LYING TO ME!" Bruce screamed, testing them.

To his surprise, neither Natasha nor Tony even flinched. Tony just chuckled as he slapped Bruce's shoulder. "Brucie Bear, you need to work on being more intimidating. I'm pretty sure my ten year old kid is more threatening than you."

Natasha and Tony eventually managed to sway Bruce into coming in with them. By the end of the ordeal, Bruce seemed to trust them, at least slightly.

XXXXXXXX

After Mr Stark and Natasha had left the quinjet, Peter stayed behind, unsure of what to do. _Maybe this was a bad idea. I don't even know where we are. _Peter got up off the spot on the floor where he'd been hiding and wandered around the quinjet, geeking out over all the technology now that he could get a good look around. "Woah!" Peter exclaimed in awe as he looked at one of the Iron Man suits. "JARVIS! How many of these does Mr Stark have?"

"Mr Stark currently has fifty equipped Iron Man suits on the vehicle. A majority of them are condensed in a case. I am afraid that the location we are in has been identified as high risk by Mr Stark. According to the Baby Protection Protocol created by Mr Stark, I am required to provide you with a layer of protection."

"A layer of protection? What do you mean JARVIS?" Peter asked.

"Engaging the Baby Protection Protocol." One of the Iron Man suits that was not in a case enclosed itself around Peter. The suit was too large for Peter, as his feet didn't quite touch the bottom of the suit.

"Oh my God! This is literally the coolest thing ever! I'm basically Iron Man. Hey JARVIS, can I fly in this thing? Can I blast something?" Peter asked excitedly.

"I'm sorry Mr Parker, but the Training Wheels Protocol prohibits you from using any combat functions in the suit unless the situation is considered 'dire'."

Peter sighed in disappointment. _First the Baby Protection Protocol and now the Training Wheels Protocol? I'm not a baby! _

XXXXXXXXX

Tony, Natasha, Bruce and Peter (still hidden in the Iron Man suit) arrived at the scene in Stuttgart only to find that Thor and Loki had already arrived on the scene. Maw had already surrendered and the sceptre had been secured.

The events leading up to the attack had been slightly different, but also eerily similar to the first time around. The unknown variables such as the new roles that Ebony Maw and Loki were playing caused Tony and Natasha a feeling of unease. They needed to speak to Loki as soon as possible.


	5. Chapter 5: The Invasion Part 2

Chapter 5

The Avengers once again found themselves at the round table on the Helicarrier, this time with the additions of Loki and Rhodey (Tony had called him in to help). Loki stood next to a pacing Thor, while Bruce stood in the corner next to Tony and Rhodey, and Natasha and Steve sat at the table.

The Avengers watched Maw's monologue in his cell through the security screen. "Be grateful, for your meaningless lives will now be graced with the presence of a child of Thanos. I, Ebony Maw will do you the favor of ruling your hopeless race-"

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Bruce asked sarcastically.

"We need to figure out what his play is. Does anyone have any information on who he is and who this 'Thanos' character is?" Steve asked.

"Thanos is a madman. He seeks to gather all the Infinity Stones and use them to wipe out half the universe," Loki replied, shivering slightly at the thought of Thanos.

"Infinity Stones?" Rhodey asked.

"The six elemental crystals of the universe. Each Infinity Stone controls an essential aspect of the universe. The space stone is contained inside the Tesseract and the mind stone is contained inside the sceptre," Thor responded.

Loki opened his mouth to add to Thor's information, but Tony beat him to it. "He has an army called the Chitauri. I assume he wants to use them to take control of the Earth so it'll be easier for Thanos to gain control of the Infinity Stones on Earth," Tony said.

Loki glared at Tony, obviously upset that he'd spoken over him. "And how exactly do you know that Stark? I wasn't aware that you've ever even been to space, so how do you possess such extensive knowledge about the Maw's plans?"

Tony glared back at Loki. _Seriously Reindeer Games? _"I'm a genius," Tony replied.

"That still doesn't explain how-" Loki began.

Natasha cut Loki off. "As much as I'd enjoy to continue watching this pissing contest, we have more important things to accomplish right now."

"So he's got an army. From outer space." Steve seemed exasperated.

"So Maw needs the Iridium to open a portal," Bruce stated.

"It's a stabilizing agent," Tony and Loki stated at the same time. They glared at each other once again, then stuttered over each other, both trying to speak over the other. Loki eventually won the testosterone battle.

"The portal in the P.E.G.A.S.U.S lab collapsed on itself due to its instability. With a proper stabilizing agent, it will hold itself together and allow the Chitauri through," Loki said, smirking at Tony.

_That little...God, that sly greasy haired twit is going to be the death of me. _"Excuse me, but Brucie Bear and I are the 'Science Bros' here so you have no right to butt in with inadequate explanations of important scientific processes," Tony replied haughtily. "Reindeer Games here forgot to mention that Maw would have to heat the cube to 120 million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier, unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the Quantum Tunneling Effect. If he did that, he'd be able to achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet," Tony continued, obviously in an effort to show his superiority in knowledge.

"I only omitted that information because I didn't feel it necessary to say to laymen. Some people know how to cater to others, and can properly summarize information rather than reciting research," Loki replied, glowering at Tony.

Tony just ignored Loki and pointed to the "Galaga Guy". "Hey you! Yeah, you playing Galaga. Aren't you an agent? Word of advice? You gotta learn to be more discreet, we all notice you over there. You're not a secret HYDRA agent, right?"

The guy looked up from his game for a second and shook his head. He then continued to play the game, ignoring Tony's pointed look at him.

"Well, I gotta say, I admire a guy that can be so nonchalant during a potential global threat. If you ever want a different job, like perhaps one at Stark Industries, you're hired," Tony said.

"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve asked Tony angrily. "We need to focus on the task at hand."

Tony bit his tongue to prevent himself from making a snarky comment back at Steve. He really didn't want to start out on the wrong foot with Steve again. Despite their differences, Steve had become family to him, and he'd trust Steve with his life if it came down to it. "Yeah sorry Capsicle," Tony replied, forcing out an apology.

"What I want to know..." Fury said as he walked in. "Is how Maw managed to turn some of the sharpest people I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys? I don't believe I understand," Thor answered with a confused frown.

"I do!" Steve declared proudly. "I understood that reference."

Tony walked over to Steve and patted him on the shoulder condescendingly. "We're all very proud of you Old Man," Tony replied sarcastically. Steve looked back at him slightly miffed. _So much for starting on the right foot this time around._

XXXXXXXXXX

After the Avengers finished discussing Maw's plan, Loki pulled both Tony and Natasha aside. The three of them stared at each other calculatingly for a few seconds, not saying a word. Finally, Tony broke the silence. "So, time travel...it's a funny thing isn't it?"

"What is _he _doing here?" Loki asked Natasha while pointing at Tony in disgust. "I deduced that the realm of the soul somehow sent the daughter of Thanos and I back to the past. I was unsure of whether or not you had come back until you showed up at the lab with _him, _but he wasn't even in the soul realm."

"Well, for your information Reindeer Games, I heroically sacrificed myself for the sake of the universe and brought everyone back to life. I ended up in the orange vomit planet afterwards," Tony responded.

Natasha stepped between the two to prevent a full-blown fight. "There are more important things going on right now that take precedent over this petty catfight, so _please _do me a favor and try to be civil." Tony and Loki grunted reluctantly in agreement.

Natasha and Tony recounted the events that had occurred since they had come back in time before listening to Loki's lengthy tale.

"I had come back during Thor's coronation day...after the past version of me had let the Frost Giants in. My idiot brother declared war on them once again and broke the fragile truce between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants. I convinced my father to banish him to Earth once again, because my hot headed brother needed to learn some humility. Unfortunately, the broken truce meant unsteady grounds when it came to the Frost Giants. My father never fell into Odinsleep because I never confronted him about my Frost Giant parentage. He did a horrible job trying to compromise with the Frost Giants and they retaliated by coming to Earth to end Thor's life. Thor was a sacrificial idiot, and he became worthy of that horrible hammer of his again. I stabbed Laufey through the heart and we killed the rest of the Frost Giants together," Loki sighed before continuing. "After that ordeal, I sought out Thanos in an attempt to contact Gamora. By the time I came across him, I discovered that both Gamora and her sister were no longer with Thanos. I'd also gotten word that Thasnos had sent Maw to retrieve the Tesseract, which is when I came to P.E.G.A.S.U.S. with Thor."

Natasha and Tony both remained silent for a moment, taking in the new information. Tony once again broke the silence. "So, somehow the soul stone sent us all back. But what about Vision? He doesn't even exist yet?"

"I am afraid I do not know what will become of Vision. Perhaps when he is created in this timeline, he will remember the past. Time magic is very complicated and dangerous to meddle with. We must proceed with caution in the future as our changes have already caused some uncertainties," Loki responded.

Tony scratched his beard thoughtfully. "So...what? We just let everything happen the same way it did last time? I hate to break it to you Reindeer Games, but we've already changed things. In fact, the person who caused the most significant and possibly most detrimental change was _you. _ At least if you were invading Earth again, we'd be able to predict what happens. Maw is a wild card. So if anything, all of our problems are your fault-"

"Excuse me for not wanting to be _mind controlled _again by that maniac," Loki snapped back.

Tony opened his mouth to retort, when suddenly, the unmistakable roar of the Hulk erupted. The Helicarrier then shook, as an explosion occurred. "Goddamnit Clint!" Natasha exclaimed.

XXXXX

Tony once again left to go help Steve fix the engine. This time around, Rhodey tagged along to help. Meanwhile, Natasha and Loki attempted to help Thor contain the Hulk.

"BANNER! TRY TO THINK! WE ARE NOT THE ENEMY!" Thor screamed as his whacked the Hulk in the face with Mjolnir. This had the opposite of the desired effect as the Hulk grew angrier and punched Thor in the face, launching him across the room.

"Thor! Stop hitting him. You'll just make him angrier. Just let me try something really quickly," Natasha said.

"What exactly are you going to do? Sing him a lullaby?" Loki asked sarcastically.

"Yes, actually I am." Natasha bent down slowly reached her hand out. "Hey Big Guy. Sun's getting real low," Natasha said soothingly. The lullaby appeared to work, as the Hulk turned toward Natasha and began reaching his hand out toward her.

"That's by far the worst lullaby I've ever heard. Does that even constitute as one?" Loki asked in disbelief.

_ROAR! _The Hulk angrily punched a hole in the ground. "HULK LOVE LULLABY!" he screamed. The Hulk marched toward a whimpering Loki.

"I was only joking...only joking…" Loki said nervously. Loki's pleas did nothing to stop the Hulk's anger. The Hulk picked up Loki by the leg and body slammed him repeatedly before tossing Loki into a wall. Loki picked himself up and angrily shouted, "SERIOUSLY? AGAIN? I AM ON THE RIGHT SIDE THIS TIME! I AM A GOD YOU BIG FAT GREEN OAF!"

"Puny God," The Hulk muttered angrily before punching another hole in the wall.

"Nice going Loki," Natasha said sarcastically.

Suddenly, the sound of the Iron Man suit thrusters filled the room, accompanied by a loud _CLANG _when the suit landed. "Wait, let me help!" The unexpected voice of a child came out of the suit.

"_Peter?_" Natasha asked incredulously. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh...hey Nat," Peter replied with a nervous chuckle. "Just wanted to help-AHHH!" The Hulk crashed into Peter's suit and pinned him into the ground.

"PETER!" Natasha cried.

"Hey dude! You like knock knock jokes? Uh...let's try one. Knock knock!" Peter wheezed out under the weight of the Hulk.

_ROAR! _The Hulk angrily punched the suit.

"I'll take that as a 'who's there'?" Peter responded nervously. Surprisingly, the Hulk began to laugh uncontrollably.

"METAL BOY SO FUNNY!" The Hulk screamed in delight. As the Hulk continued to laugh, he slowly turned back into Bruce.

"You have a _lot _of explaining to do," Natasha gave Peter a pointed look.

XXXXXXXXXX

Natasha and Loki teamed up to knock out Clint. This time around, there wasn't really much of a fight. While Loki distracted Clint by creating multiple illusions of himself, Natasha came up from behind and whacked Clint in the head.

Next, the two made their way over to where Maw was being held, only to find that he had already escaped from his cell and was in possession of the sceptre once again. "You like this?" Coulson asked sarcastically as he pointed a weapon at Maw. "We started working on a prototype a few months ago. Even I don't know what it does," Coulson said menacingly.

"Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine. I will end your life in an instance," Maw replied, raising the sceptre.

"NO!" Natasha screamed as she and Loki came running to Coulson's aide.

"Hang on Mr Agent! I got you!" Peter exclaimed. Peter flew over to Coulson and picked him up, bringing him out of harm's way.

"Pete! I thought I told you to stay low with Bruce!" Natasha scolded Peter.

"I'm sorry! JARVIS told me that you guys were in trouble over here and I just wanted to make sure everyone was alright!" Peter replied as he flew off, Coulson in tow.

Once again, Maw used the commotion to his advantage, escaping while everyone else was distracted.

"Shit," Natasha cursed under her breath after she noticed that Maw had disappeared. _We're doing a great job at fixing everything, aren't we?_

XXXXXXXX

After the commotion was over, the Avengers once again gathered at the table in the Helicarrier. This time, there was an addition of a young boy wearing one of Tony's Iron Man suits. The boy stepped out of the suit and cowered in front of Tony.

"Kid! What the hell are you doing here?" Tony asked in a scolding voice.

The Avengers watched as the apologetic kid (who they learned was named Peter) explained how he'd snuck onboard and helped take down the Hulk and save Coulson.

Tony took a breath, trying to calm down to avoid an outburst similar to the one that had occurred a few years ago during the "ferry incident". The kid had good intentions, after all, he didn't have a single bad bone in his body. But he needed the kid to understand that what he'd done was dangerous. He hoped that he could teach Peter to have _some _sense self-preservation this time around (although Tony didn't exactly set a great example). "You did good kid. I want you to know that. I'm really proud that you stepped up and did what you could," Tony sighed as he ran his hand through he beard. "But...kid, it isn't your job. What you did...sneaking on this ship, that was dangerous. You shouldn't be here, you could've gotten yourself seriously hurt or even killed. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you kiddo," Tony said. _If something happened to you again…_

Peter bowed his head in guilt. He hadn't meant to worry Mr Stark. He didn't even realize that Mr Stark cared that much. "I'm sorry," Peter whispered softly.

Tony couldn't help himself as he wrapped his arms around the kid. Peter seemed surprised by the display of affection, but accepted the hug happily nonetheless. This was the first hug that Tony had shared with Peter in the current timeline, and it felt so satisfying to finally embrace his kid.

Natasha cooed as she teasingly said, "Tony Stark really _does _have a heart, who knew?" She walked over to Peter and ruffled his hair. "By the way Pete, that thing you pulled off with the Hulk took guts. You're made to be a hero kid."

Rhodey nodded his head in agreement with Natasha and high-fived Peter. "Jeez, I swear you become more like Tony every day."

"I'm sorry, am I the only one who didn't know that Tony had a son?" Bruce asked. Steve also looked on in confusion, seemingly having the same question.

"Oh, I'm not his-" Peter began.

"Pete here is my personal intern and protege. And he's _my_ kid so if anyone has a problem with him, you've got a problem with me, capisce?" Tony asked threateningly.

"Well I think that Starkson will make a fine warrior one day. Perhaps after this is over, he can join us in celebration with revels," Thor said loudly.

"Well brother, before any celebrations occur, perhaps we should focus on the problem that needs to be solved? We need to get to New York, Maw is most likely there already setting up the Chitauri attack," Loki said.

"And how exactly do you know that Maw is headed toward New York?" Fury asked.

"It was just a guess. It's the location that makes the most sense. If it were me I'd want a monument built in the sky with a name plastered on top. Plus, he needs a power source," Loki responded.

"Well, you're not the one planning the invasion, are you? I'm not sending you all out to New York on a hunch. Banner, have you made any progress on tracking the cube?" Fury asked urgently.

"Yeah actually, it's just processing the information…" Bruce walked over to the screen and took off his glasses. "It says the cube is located in Tennessee. In a second we should have a more exact location...ah ha! The cube is currently in Rose Hill, Tennessee."

Tony nearly choked on the blueberry he'd just popped into his mouth. _Rose Hill, Tennessee? The city that Harley is from? Why there? _

Loki and Natasha shared a confused look. Tony took the opportunity to make fun of Loki for predicting the "wrong location" of the alien invasion. But inside, he once again felt uneasy, as he was sure this was just the beginning of a chain of different unpredictable events.


	6. Chapter 6: The Invasion Part 3

Chapter 6

**A/N : Thanks for the reviews y'all! I really appreciate it! :)**

"But Mr Stark! I wanna stay! I can help!" Peter whined.

"I don't doubt that you could kid. You're pretty amazing. But there's some serious adult shit-" Peter gave him a look, "adult stuff going on right now. I don't know what I'd do if you got yourself hurt. Also, if you came home with a single scratch, I'm pretty sure that Aunt Hottie would have me die a very painful death. Ben would probably help," Tony winced at the thought.

"No! Ben would never, he loves you! May on the other hand...yeah she definitely would kill you," Peter replied cheekily.

Tony wrapped his arms around the kid and kissed the top of his head. "Stay safe Pete, I mean it. I'll come see you first thing when this is over."

After a few more complaints from Peter, he finally complied and got back into the Iron Man suit (Tony had entered the coordinates to fly him back to Queens). "JARVIS, send him home," Tony instructed.

"Yes sir," JARVIS responded.

XXXXXXX

"Sir, you have an incoming call from Miss Potts," JARVIS informed Tony.

_Oh shit, I totally forgot to talk to Pep. _Tony winced in preparation for the reprimand he was about to receive. "Put her through J."

"TONY! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? IN CASE YOU FORGOT AGAIN, YOU HAVE SOME VERY IMPORTANT BUSINESS MEETINGS WITH POTENTIAL CLIENTS TODAY AND THEN I GET A CALL THAT YOU DIDN'T EVEN SHOW UP?!" Pepper screamed.

"Look Pep, remember when I told you about the Avengers?" Tony asked.

"You mean the superhero team? Yeah, what about it?" Pepper asked. "Oh my God, does this have something to do with that alien in Germany?"

"Yeah...something like that. Don't worry too much Pep, I'll be fine." _Hopefully...I actually have no idea how it'll go down this time around. _"But just in case I'm not, just know that I love you so much. I love you 3000."

"I love you 3000 too," Pepper responded. After Tony had blurted out the phrase in his lab shortly after coming back in time, it had become "their thing". "Tony I...oh God...just be safe, okay? I can't lose you, I just can't."

XXXXXXX

The Avengers flew Tony's quinjet to the area of Rose Hill, Tennessee where the cube was emitting a signal. "There," Bruce pointed to a tall building. "That's where the signal is coming from. Selvig must be using a reactor on the top of that building to power the cube."

"Okay. I've got the Iron Legion ready to go," Tony informed the group.

"HOLY SHIT!" Rhodey screamed. The others turned to look at what had caused the colonel's outburst. A portal had been opened, and the Chitauri had come out, some flying saucers, and others jumping out.

"We need to work together as a team," Steve stated, taking over his role as team leader. "These things are going to keep on coming until we can figure out how to close that portal. Until then, our priority is containment. Stark and Rhodes, we need you up top with the rest of the suits. You got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back, or you turn it to ash. Barton, I need you on that roof, I want eyes on everything, call out patterns and strays. Thor, use the lightning to slow down the portal. Dr Banner, I need you to get angry and smash? If that's how it works. Loki, you need to focus on confronting Maw and getting ahold of the sceptre to close out the portal. Romanoff and I will stay on the ground, keep the fighting here."

"Hey Cap, do you mind if I go with Reindeer Games? From previous experiences with Maw, we're going to need more than just a wannabe God fighting him. I mean, Maw practically destroyed Reindeer Games last time," Tony said snarkily.

Loki glared back at Tony but seemed to agree with him. "As much as it pains me to admit, some help in taking down the Maw would be appreciated."

Steve nodded his head in agreement. "Alright Stark, you and Loki will secure the sceptre and focus on closing the portal. Rhodey and the rest of the Iron Legion will take care of the perimeter-"

Steve's plan was interrupted by a Chituari landing in the middle of the group of superheroes. Steve immediately threw his shield at the alien, swiftly cutting its head off.

"Damn Old Man, you got moves," Tony teased.

"Alright everyone, let's get into position," Steve replied, battle face on.

XXXXXXXXX

After Tony finished giving Clint a lift to the roof, he remotely ordered JARVIS to send out the Iron Legion. "Rhodes, I've got the suits helping you with the perimeter. You gotta cover me and Reindeer Games while we try to steal the magic stick!"

"It's a sceptre containing the Space Stone Stark, calling it a magic stick undermines the significance of the artifact," Loki replied with an irritated tone.

"Whatever, it's a glowing stick that does magic. Hence, it's a magic stick," Tony quipped back.

"Copy that Tony!" Rhodey replied, ignoring the continued pissing contest between Tony and Loki.

"Hey Stark, do you mind coming down here and giving me a ride up there?" Loki asked.

"I actually do mind. I have a rule against helping dicks, and since you are in fact a dick, I will not help you. Feel free to find your own way up," Tony replied with a chuckle.

"Stark! This is no time to be childish! Give Loki a lift to the roof!" Steve ordered.

"Oh _please,_" Tony scoffed. "He's literally a Norse God. I'm sure he can find his own way up. Can't he fly or teleport? Or on second thought, hey Reindeer Games, why don't you hitch a ride up on one of those gliders?"

"Flying and teleportation aren't exactly my favorite means of transportation. As for your other idea...as much as I hate to admit it, that's not a bad idea Stark," Loki replied, thinking about how fun it was to ride one of the gliders the first time around. That is, until he was blasted off of it by the archer. I _guess I kind of deserved that for mind controlling him. Actually, I really didn't because I was also being mind controlled but whatever…_

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you just admit that I had a good idea? Can you please repeat that, I need to hear that again...I'm pretty sure I just went into shock there," Tony said sarcastically.

A mischievous glint took over Natasha's eye as an idea popped into her head. "Mind if I help you boys up there? How about we race to the top of the building on those gliders?" Natasha challenged Loki.

"Romanoff! That's not the plan! I need your help on the ground," Steve said as he threw his shield through a row of Chitauri, then effortlessly jumped on top of a car to take out another with his bare hands.

"Well Cap, it sounds like you're doing just fine on your own. But knowing Tony, he's bound to screw something up if he doesn't have a sane minded person helping him," Natasha replied.

"Hey!" Tony and Loki protested simultaneously.

"Fine, Romanoff, you can go and help Stark and Loki contain the sceptre," Steve replied. "Wow, the younger generation really doesn't know how to follow orders," Steve muttered to himself, forgetting that the comms were still on.

Tony rolled his eyes, thinking about Cap's blatant disregard for orders during Project Insight and the "Civil War". "Sorry, the rest of us just aren't such sticklers for the rules like you are Old Man."

XXXXXXX

"Looks like I won," Natasha smirked as she landed her glider on the roof a second before Loki.

"I don't recall ever verbally accepting the challenge," Loki replied defensively.

"So all that cursing I heard on the comms on the way up as I was beating you had nothing to do with you wanting to win?" Natasha asked amused.

Loki opened his mouth to retort as Tony said, "Seeing as I got here way before you two, _I _clearly won."

Not having a good comeback to that, Loki quickly changed the subject. "Wow, what an ugly place to stage an invasion. At least I had good taste." Realizing that the comms were still on, he quickly corrected himself. "I mean...if I were to be leading the invasion I would lead it with much more elegance."

"Nice save Reindeer Games," Tony said.

Their light-hearted bickering was interrupted by Maw. "You insufferable humans really have no self-preservation skills. You are about to die at the hands of the child of Thanos."

"Yeah whatever you say Squidward. You've said it before, and I haven't died yet," Tony replied. _Well, I mean, I did one time but I also saved the universe so…_

Loki quickly spotted Eric Selvig and punched him in the face, promptly knocking him out. "You'll thank me later when you aren't being mind-controlled by a madman."

Maw fired at the three of them with the sceptre, narrowly missing Natasha. "Oh no you don't!" Natasha muttered in annoyance. As Loki distracted Maw with an illusion of him charging at Maw from the front, he quickly came up behind him and stabbed him in the back. Natasha took advantage of Maw's confusion and used the opportunity to grab the sceptre while Tony fired at Maw to keep him occupied.

"You insolent little creatures! I will not be defeated-" Maw's speech was cut short by Natasha stabbing him in the chest with the sceptre.

Natasha winced as Maw's blood splashed in her face. "Okay, that's still _really_ gross."

"Stark, Romanoff, Loki! What's going on up there? Are you in possession of the sceptre. We need to close the portal before anymore of these bastards come through!" Steve exclaimed.

"Wait, Fury! There isn't by chance a nuke headed our way, is there?" Tony asked.

"I tried to talk the council out of the stupid ass desicision because I know the Avengers would take care of-wait a minute, how did you know about that?" Fury asked.

"You forgot to turn your comms off while you argued with those idiots. I heard the whole thing," Tony lied. "But I think I know a good place to put that nuke."

"Tony no! You are not going back up there!" Natasha screamed.

"Wait Tony, did you send that suit up the wormhole?" Rhodey asked as he gestured toward an Iron Man suit carrying a nuke through the portal.

"No…" Tony replied in confusion. "JARVIS, why is there a rogue suit carrying a nuke?"

"I am afraid that Mr Parker overrode my protocols on his way back to Queens. When he arrived here, he asked me about the nuke and after I informed him of its nature, he immediately decided to take matters into his own hands," JARVIS responded apologetically.

Tony immediately felt his chest tighten and suddenly found himself barely able to breathe. "What...Peter...how...the fuck...how exactly did Peter override your protocols?" Tony grunted out.

"Your password was his name which he blurted out before he even started guessing passwords sir."

"God fucking damn it!" Tony screamed. "JARVIS, connect me to Peter's comms."

"I am afraid that I am unable to connect you to Mr Parker." Tony watched on in panic as he saw Peter's suit fly through the portal.

"Stark, I need you to close that portal _now_. We can't risk anymore aliens getting in," Fury demanded.

"What the fuck? We are not closing that damn portal until Peter comes out!" Tony suddenly collapsed as the panic overtook him.

Natasha quickly knelt beside him and rubbed his back comfortingly. "Give him a minute, he'll come out."

"FUCK! Last time I started free falling as soon as I came out and only survived because Jolly Green caught me. I gotta get to Peter!" Although in a panicked state, adrenaline took over as Tony because flying toward the portal. However, before he could get there, Peter's suit came flying out of the wormhole, not free falling the way Tony's had. _Oh yeah, my newer suits are equipped for space. _Tony sighed in relief, the panic slowly leaving his body. _That kid is going to be the death of me...again._


	7. Chapter 7: The Aftermath

**Sorry about taking forever to upload. I've been so swamped with school and I've been in and out of the hospital for eating disorders and other mental health stuff lately so I haven't really been focused on writing. Here's a super short chapter and hopefully I get back into more regular updates soon :).**

Tony flew down with Peter, landing seconds before him. After seeing that Peter had made it out safely, Natasha closed the portal. "Oh my gosh, that was like, the coolest thing ever! Like some aliens started coming at me, but I was so strong in this suit that they couldn't even take me! Then when I saw that nuke, I knew I had to get rid of it because that's literally a nuke, it would kill people right? So then I thought, where should I put it, and I saw the big hole in the sky, and I was like, that's a great place! Then the whole thing went _BOOM! _Oh, you should've seen it Mr Stark! What the heck? All the aliens are collapsing. Oh! It's like those movies where the mother ship gets destroyed and they all fall down! This is amazing-" Peter continued to ramble on, clearly unfazed by the whole experience.

Tony couldn't find the words to express his feelings of anger, shock, and relief, but he relished the comforting sound of Peter's rambling. He immediately stepped out of his suit and ordered JARVIS to open up Peter's suit. "Don't _ever _scare me like that again, you hear me?" Tony scolded as he wrapped his arms around Peter. "God, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you kid.." Tony suddenly felt the panic attack from before come back as flashbacks of Peter turning to dust on Titan flooded his vision. Tony dropped to the ground, once again finding it hard to breathe.

Peter's excitement immediately turned to guilt as he did his best to calm Tony down. "I'm so sorry Mr Stark, I just really wanted to help you and Nat. I wanted to protect you guys...I didn't mean to make you sad. And I'm okay Mr Stark, I'm here," Peter said as he wrapped his arms around Tony.

Tony held on to Peter for dear life and the two stayed in an embrace until Tony calmed down again. "You did good kid. It was a brave thing you did out there. But please don't ever fly into space again, okay? I don't think my old heart could take it."

As the other Avengers made their way to Tony and Peter, Natasha immediately ran over to embrace Peter. "Wow, you really are Tony's kid, aren't you?"

Steve cleared his throat. "Um...as much as I hate to interrupt, there's still a lot of cleaning up that we need to do," Steve said apologetically.

"Okay, cleanup first, then shawarma after. I'm starving," Tony replied. Although none of the Avengers had spoken during the"shawarma gathering" the first time around, it had nonetheless been a crucial bonding moment between the heroes that had solidified their camaraderie.

"What's shawarma?" Peter asked innocently.

"The best thing that you will ever eat," Tony replied. _Okay, that might be stretching it a bit, but there are great memories associated with shawarma. I guess death has made me sentimental. _

"You're not going to tell Uncle Ben and Aunt May, are you?" Peter asked nervously.

"I think it's probably best for everyone if we keep this quiet for now…" Tony replied as he thought about the shouting match that had occurred the first time around when May had found out about Spider-man.

The Avengers were suddenly blinded by the flashing lights of cameras as the paparazzi circled in on the group. "Mr Stark! Is this your illegitimate son? He's the one responsible for saving New York from the nuke, correct?" One of the paparazzi made the mistake of grabbing Peter.

Tony's protective instincts immediately took over as he gently grabbed Peter's arm and pushed Peter behind him. "Don't you _ever _touch my son again," Tony growled menacingly as he punched the man in the face. _Shit, did I just call him my son in front of the media? _

"I'll sue you!" The man screamed angrily as he clutched his face in pain.

"Yeah, yeah, call my lawyer asshat," Tony replied dismissively. _That's what you get for touching Peter. _

"Mr Stark! Why did you hide your son from us all these years?" The other reporters continued to get too close for comfort.

"We need to get out of here," Tony muttered.

"Alright you insolent humans, listen up. If you don't get out of our way within five seconds, I will stab all of you," Loki threatened, tossing his knife up into the air.

"Brother, you cannot threaten to stab humans," Thor scolded. Regardless, Loki's threat seemed to work as the reporters immediately ran off.

XXXXX

"Why are we handing over the sceptre to a known terrorist organization? You do realize that the whole reason I came here with my annoying brother in the first place was to take it back to Asgard, right?" Loki asked Natasha and Tony.

"We need HYDRA to get their hands on it so that Wanda and Pietro can get their powers. Also, we can't risk changing the course of events anymore than we already have," Natasha replied.

"Yeah, and no offense Reindeer Games, but from what I've heard, Asgard seems to be the most destructible indestructible city ever," Tony said. "Anyway guys, it's shawarma time!" Tony announced to the group.

XXXXX

The shawarma place in Rose Hill, Tennessee served overcooked meat that was far too dry to chew. Upon taking his first bite, Peter immediately spit out the flavorless piece of meat. "Mr Stark! That's _disgusting_, I thought you said this would be the best thing I would ever eat!"

"Aw...come on kid, how bad can it be?" Tony asked before taking a bite of the dry meat himself. "Oh damn, you're right, that's not good at all."

"Wow, the insolent metal man has bad taste, that's shocking," Loki chimed in sarcastically.

"Whatever you greasy haired prick, at least we're bonding as a team," Tony replied.

"So Mr Loki, are the stories I've read about you true? Are you really a shape-shifter? You're one of the coolest people that I've read about!" Peter said as he bounced up and down.

Loki smirked and turned into a snake before slithering onto Tony's leg.

"AWESOME!" Peter exclaimed. "Mr Stark, isn't Mr Loki the coolest superhero ever?"

_Hero? This greasy haired twit literally led the alien invasion last time! _"Reindeer Games, get off!" _This little shit thinks he can walk all over me? I don't think so!_

Peter giggled as Loki begrudgingly obliged. "Don't worry Mr Stark, you don't have to be jealous, you're still my favorite. But Mr Loki is still _really_ cool."

Although exhausted and hungry, the Avengers still managed to have a great time, with Peter filling in the gaps of silence with his never-ending questions. By the time they were ready to leave, every Avenger had fallen in love with Peter. Peter's innocence and pure heart had even won over Loki, who swore to kill anyone who so much as bad mouthed Peter in front of him.

XXXXX

A young boy around Peter's age sobbed as he knelt in front of the bodies of his mother and younger sister. Peter immediately noticed and alerted the rest of the Avengers, who were far too exhausted to notice the boy in the corner.

Tony looked over at the boy and took a double take. _No...it can't be...Harley? _


	8. Chapter 8: Family

Chapter 8

**Hey y'all! I'm alive haha! Please Please Please review and tell me what you think (even if it's not positive) because I'm all for constructive criticism and reviews really motivate me! Also I'm sorry this chapter is more of a filler chapter. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it. Also, I realize that Fallon wasn't the host back in 2005, but let's just say that the MCU is a different universe from our own, so the timeline is slightly different, shall we?**

Peter knelt down and gently placed his arm on Harley's shoulders. "I'm sorry about your family. I lost my mom and dad when I was really little. I don't remember them much, but my Aunt May and Uncle Ben said I didn't talk for weeks. I'm sorry...you probably don't want to hear too much about me right now. What's your name?" Peter asked.

"Har...Harley. Harley Keener," Harley replied between choked sobs. "What's your name?"

"I'm Peter. These are the Avengers, they just saved the world. I'm sure they can help you out too. Do you have any aunts, uncles, or family members we can call? Your dad?" Peter asked gently.

"My dad's more dead to me than my mom and sister," Harley snapped back.

Peter flinched slightly at the harsh tone. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I just really want to help you."

"No, I'm sorry. None of this is your fault. Don't worry about me, I'll get out of your way," Harley replied as he turned and walked away.

Tony stood frozen as he watched the exchange between Harley and Peter guiltily. _This is all my fault. If I'd just paid more attention, then Maw wouldn't have gotten away and Harley's family would still be alive. I'm the reason they're dead. Oh God. _"Hey kid, Harley, right? Listen, I've got this huge tower with a ton of empty rooms just begging for someone to come live there. Why don't you come and stay with me?" Tony asked impulsively.

"Oh my God! You're Iron Man," Harley replied slightly starstruck, momentarily forgetting about the dire situation.

"Yes I am. I'm glad you recognize such an important heroic figure," Tony replied. Natasha rolled her eyes behind him. "I know this sucks ass right now, and I am terrible at comforting people, especially children. But what I can do is help you out if you come with me, capische?"

"Yeah...okay." Harley nodded slowly as he looked around at all the Avengers, his eyes widening in excitement upon noticing Clint. "Woah...you're that arrow guy with the awesome exploding arrows! My dad was big on archery, said he'd teach me to hunt a deer with an arrow, you know, before he decided we weren't worth his time. No offense to the rest of you people, your powers are super cool and all, but a bow and arrow is super badass. Like you're a real hero. What's your hero name anyway?"

Clint seemed a bit surprised by the attention the young boy gave him, and smiled gently in response. "My codename is Hawkeye. Don't know if I'm much of a hero…" _Given that I killed a bunch of people under Maw's orders. _"But I can definitely teach you better than that bastard anyway," Clint replied.

"Cool. You're already my favorite superhero," Harley replied, smiling slightly through his tear-stained face.

Tony brought his hand to his chest, "Oh young Harley, you wound me. I thought you liked Iron Man? You into science? If you move into the tower, I'll let you help me and Pete out in the lab. We work on a bunch of cool shit in there, including Iron Man suits."

"Language Tony!" Steve reprimanded Tony. "There are children here!"

"Yeah Mr Stark! You owe me ten bucks for the swear jar when we get back to the tower!" Peter chimed in.

Tony looked to Natasha, both of them seeming to enjoy the nostalgic feeling of the team's banter. "Oh, come on Pete! If I remember correctly, you dropped three f bombs the other day that you still haven't paid any money for yet either."

Before Peter could open his mouth to retort, Harley quietly spoke up once again. "You really mean that? But...you're Iron Man and I'm just an orphan from Tennessee. Why would you want anything to do with me?"

Tony swallowed his guilt and smiled at Harley. "I got a feeling that we're connected kiddo."

XXXXXXX

The quinjet ride back to New York reminded Tony and Natasha of old times. The group's lighthearted banter filled Tony with the happiness that he didn't even realize he was missing. Harley was still understandably shaken up, having just lost his only family members hours earlier, but Peter's presence seemed to comfort him.

Bruce walked to the back of the quinjet while the rest of the Avengers accepted Tony's generous offer to stay at the tower. Natasha followed close behind. "You know, if you refuse Tony's offer, he'll just bother you relentlessly until you accept. You really don't have a choice in the matter. He'd be devastated without someone smart enough to keep up with him in that lab of his. And quite frankly, I'd miss you too."

"Miss me? You don't even know me," Bruce scoffed in disbelief.

"Maybe not, but I've read about you. You care about people so much that you've isolated yourself in a misguided attempt to help them. You help the sick in third world countries for free, despite the fact that with your seven PHDs, you could be making millions. You're brilliant, and despite what you think, so is the other guy. I've seen him in action, and I know that he's capable of a lot more than destruction. You can finally stop running Bruce. You have a family here," Natasha said as she gently touched Bruce's cheek.

"You know what's funny? I was dead set on running away, but somehow you're actually making me consider staying. I feel like I know you, is that weird?" Bruce asked.

"No, not weird at all. I feel like I know you too," Natasha replied with a hint of a smile.

"But even if I did want to stay, there's no guarantee that the Hulk won't come out and put all of you in danger. And Tony's got kids in the tower too! The Hulk could lose control and kill them! It's far too risky!" Bruce exclaimed.

"We're a group full of people with metal suits, God-like powers, and a whole host of other skills. I'm sure we can hold our own. Plus, if Tony thought you were a danger to Pete, I doubt he'd even let you within 100 feet of the kid. He's _extremely_ overprotective. If he's willing to let you hang out with the kid, then he really trusts you. The other guy saved his life. And if it makes you feel any better, I bet Tony would be willing to help you design a suit that could contain the Hulk if anything were to happen."

"I'll...I'll have to think about it," Bruce replied thoughtfully. "Wait..when did the other guy save Tony's life?"

XXXXXXX

Tony and Natasha managed to convince all of the Avengers to move into the tower, including Loki and Thor. Loki was hesitant to stay in the same vicinity as Tony, but agreed that it was better that he stayed nearby to help the other two time travellers plan their next steps. Thor seemed excited to stay on midgard and finally go visit Jane (who still ended up slapping him for taking so long to come visit). Though Loki hadn't thought much of the midgardian woman the first time he'd met her, that slap made him develop an appreciation for the woman.

Pepper had seemed surprised that Tony was so adamant that he adopt an orphan off the street. However, upon meeting Harley, she too had fallen in love with the young boy. Given that she didn't think Tony was responsible enough to adopt a child on his own, she offered to adopt Harley with him. Tony's lawyers worked efficiently, and within a month, Harley was officially adopted by Tony and Pepper. The trauma of losing his mother and sister seemed to leave Harley much more shy and closed off than when Tony had met him the first time around. However, Peter seemed to bring him out of his shell. Peter's pureness seemed to have that effect on everyone.

May and Ben had yelled at Tony after seeing Peter on TV. Tony and Peter explained that Peter had sneaked onto the quinjet, and continued to disobey orders (and therefore end up recklessly putting his life on the line). Upon realizing that Tony had likely saved Peter's life with his safety protocols with the Iron Man suit, May and Ben had calmed down a little bit. In the end, May, Ben and Tony collectively decided that Peter was grounded for three months. Peter would be allowed to go to school and his apartment only, and on internship days, Tony would assign him "boring stuff only" (At first, Tony had tried to give Peter nothing but paperwork, but the kid's damn puppy dog eyes had him caving in and he ended up letting the kid help him with the Iron Man suit designs again).

XXXXXX

"Sir, Captain Rogers is requesting permission to enter your floor. He wishes to speak with you," JARVIS notified Tony.

"Let him into my lab J," Tony responded.

Steve entered the lab with wide eyes. "Wow, the technology of this time is something that I don't know I'll ever get used to."

"You'll be alright Capsicle. I'm sure Pete and Harley would love to give the righteous Captain America a tour of the twenty-first century," Tony replied with a laugh.

"That might actually be very helpful. How is Harley doing?" Steve asked.

"As well as a kid who just lost his whole family can be doing I suppose. He's a strong quippy kid at heart. He and Peter are going to be the death of me, I swear."

"They're both really good kids. They're lucky to have you. Look, I know we didn't get off on the right foot, and I'm afraid that's my fault. I made assumptions about you before I'd even met you based on some old SHIELD files. I guess I was distraught coming out of the ice into an unrecognizable world. All my friends are dead and the love of my life has Alziemer's. When I saw that Howard had a son, I guess I was expecting him to be just like Howard was. That was an unfair comparison for me to make, and I'm sorry. You're a good man Tony, and Howard would be proud of you," Steve said earnestly.

"Thanks Cap," Tony replied. "If it's any consolation, I misjudged you too. I mean, you are as righteous and perfect as Dad made you out to be, but that's not a bad thing at all. I'm glad to have you around Capsicle."

"Thank you Tony," Steve replied, offering his hand to Tony.

Instead of shaking Steve's hand, Tony surprised both himself and Steve by going in for a hug. _Damn it, this time travel shit is making me so soft. _"Oh, and since you're one of the better public speakers on the team, Nat and I wanted to ask you to do something with us."

XXXXXXXXXX

After the alien invasion, the media circus soon grew out of control, especially in regards to Peter and Harley. When the paparazzi started camping outside Peter's (and now Harley's) school, Tony decided it was finally time to address the public and hopefully calm things down.

The next night, Peter and Harley sat on the sofa with the Avengers who were currently at the tower. Peter clapped excitedly as the Roots began playing the theme music to the talk show. "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" popped up in big bold white letters on the television screen.

"All right, I am so excited to have my first guests here tonight. I've done many interviews with one of them, but I have yet to meet these other two heroes. Also, I may or may not own some underwear merchandise from one of these amazing people," Jimmy laughed nervously before continuing on. "Anyway, without further ado, please welcome Tony Stark AKA Iron Man, Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow, and Steve Rogers AKA Captain America!"

Tony strutted out confidently, blowing kisses in an exaggerated fashion, then threw up his signature peace sign before dramatically sitting down in a cross legged position. Natasha just rolled her eyes behind him and waved to the audience. Steve, on the other hand, awkwardly bowed then quickly followed Tony and Natasha and sat down.

"Wow! Look at you all! Tony, it's so great to see you again! And Natasha, Steve, it's great to finally meet you!" Jimmy laughed nervously again before continuing. "Sorry, this is still so surreal to me! Like, I grew up sleeping on you!" Jimmy turned towards Steve. "I mean. Not literally of course, but I had your bed sheets, and your underwear too! You're my childhood hero."

"Thanks," Steve replied awkwardly. "To be quite honest with you, I didn't even know that was a thing."

"Yeah Cap, I'm working on getting all Avengers merchandise patented because I don't really want my face to end up on someone's dildo," Tony said. Jimmy laughed in an exaggerated manner as the audience applauded loudly. Tony stood up and bowed, before gesturing for the audience to continue.

"All right, that's enough everyone! Trust me, Tony doesn't need an ego boost. His head's big enough as it is," Natasha teased Tony.

"Aw, you wound me Agent," Tony responded. "I for one, think I am very humble. Who here thinks I'm humble?" Tony gestured towards the audience as they once again cheered loudly.

"That is not exactly a fair personality assessment Tony. I'm pretty sure they'll cheer for you no matter what you say," Steve responded. The cheering audience seemed to prove his point.

"Aw come on Capsicle, you're just salty because my team beat yours during our paintball game yesterday! And I had two children on my team!"

"Wait, you guys play paintball together?" Jimmy asked intrigued.

"Yes, well, I decided that if we were going to live and work together as a team, we needed to do some team bonding activities. It was the least violent activity that was suggested, so I agreed to it. Though playing outside definitely would've been a better idea, The entire 40th floor of Avengers tower has been completely destroyed," Steve replied sheepishly.

"What were the teams? I'm just curious because Tony just mentioned that his team won?" Jimmy laughed again.

"Well the winning team was me, Agent Romanoff, Rhodey, Brucie Bear, and my kids. The losers were Capsicle, Reindeer Games, Point Break, and Legolas. To be fair though, Thor and Loki are Asgardians and had a hard time grasping the concept. Loki spent the whole time annoying Thor with his illusions, and Thor broke his paint gun five minutes into the game. He spent the rest of the time chasing Loki's illusions and throwing things at all the illusions until he found Loki. I think the two of them missed the whole point of working together as a team," Tony chuckled as the audience burst into laughter.

"Wow! I kind of want to be there next time you have a paintball game, but at the same time, it sounds a bit terrifying. Not to pry or anything, but you mentioned kids? There have been a ton of paparazzi pictures as of late with you and two young boys. There's also been speculation that one of the kids flew into the wormhole in Tennessee to save the town from a nuke?" Jimmy asked.

"Yeah, all of that's pretty much true," Tony admitted. "But before you judge me as a 'reckless parent' or whatever, know that Peter sneaked onto the plane and I sent him home, but he hacked my suit and decided to go save the world. I met Peter a while back at one of my expos, I was super impressed by his scientific knowledge, and offered him a prestigious internship at Stark Industries. From there, we really got to know each other and his little puppy eyes are so hard to resist. I never stood a chance against them. I honestly never dreamed of having kids before Pete. He might not technically be my son, but he's as good as. Harley's family was tragically killed during the alien invasion," Tony winced, the guilt of the situation still fresh. "I fell in love with the kid right away, and Pepper and I have officially adopted him. I love both of these kids so much, and if they continue getting harrassed by any of you low life paparazzi, I will personally come to your house in an Iron Man suit. You have been warned," Tony said menacingly, taking off his sunglasses for dramatic effect.

"Wow, Tony Stark as a protective dad, I never thought I'd see the day. This is a huge contrast from your party days. I remember the first time you came on this show in 2005, and you admitted to taking two tabs of LSD before coming on the show. To be fair to you, a drugged out Tony Stark is still much more intelligent than any of us will ever be," Jimmy responded laughing.

"Yeah well, everybody's gotta grow up sometime, right? And thanks for reminding me of that Jimmy. My kids are watching at home and now you've just given them some bad ideas. Well, knowing how innocent Peter is, he probably hasn't heard of acid. Harley on the other hand...Hey kids, if you even think about doing drugs you will never set foot outside of the tower ever again! I know you're watching this at home with the rest of the Avengers, so don't pretend that you didn't hear me!" Tony warned, only half joking.

Jimmy laughed again, bringing his head down to the table dramatically. "Well, who can argue with that when Iron Man is your dad? Anyway, I hope you don't mind if we change the subject a bit. I'm sure the audience would love to hear a little bit about each of the Avengers. Tony, of course we know a lot about you. So why don't we start with you Steve. Tell us a little bit about your life in the twenty-first century."

"Well, I guess it was a bit of a shock to wake up and discover that you're in a different century. It was tough at first, I'm not going to lie. But the team has helped me adjust a lot. I thought that I didn't have any family and friends, but these guys right here and the ones back at the tower have shown me that that's not the case at all," Steve said earnestly while the audience 'awwed'. "It's not so bad anyway. Food's a lot better, we used to boil everything. Peter and Harley have been helping me navigate Goggle…"

"It's Google Old Man," Tony corrected.

"Yes, thank you Tony. Good thing I brought my twenty-first century translator," Steve joked as the audience responded with laughter. "Anyway, it's definitely been an adjustment, but I'm glad that I've found a family in my team members."

"What about you Natasha? What has this experience been like for you?" Jimmy asked, directing the attention to the assassin.

"Honestly? Before I became an Avenger, I felt lost. I've made a lot of mistakes in the past, and I've constantly been trying to be better. I've known Clint for a long time, he saved me in my darkest moments, and I would give my life for him in an instant. Tony and I actually met while I was undercover at his company. I'm pretty sure he only hired me because my fake profile claimed that I was a lingerie model," Natasha said cheekily.

"Aw, come on Romanoff! Give me a little credit here. I hired you after I saw you beat up Happy in the ring," Tony interjected.

"Well, whatever the real reason Tony hired me is, I'm glad he did. I misjudged him, as I'm sure a lot of people do. Underneath his asshole persona, he's all fluff," Natasha said with a smile. "And Steve over here," Natasha gestured towards the supersoldier, "is one of the best men I've ever known. He truly is the embodiment of bravery." Steve looked surprised by her statement, most likely due to the fact that in the current timeline, they hadn't spoken much yet.

"What can you tell me about Thor and Loki?" Jimmy asked.

"Well Point Break is honestly a happy go lucky golden retriever. But don't ever eat that man's Pop-Tarts. We nearly had to get the tower repaired after he and Loki had a full-blown fight when Thor discovered that his Pop-Tarts were missing. Unbeknownst to both of them, Clint was the one who ate them. Sorry Legolas, your secret's out," Tony smirked. "Loki on the other hand, is a pain in the ass, but we put up with him anyway. For some ungodly reason, the kids love his magic tricks so I let him stay with us."

"Wow...that sounds...intense. What can you tell us about Hawkeye? Other than the fact that he ate Thor's Pop-Tarts?" Jimmy asked again.

"I've known Clint for years, and we've had a ton of wild stories together. He's like a brother to me at this point, and we trust one another with everything. The man loves climbing in vents and scaring people, but he hasn't managed to be successful with me," Natasha smirked with a sense of pride. "Tony on the other hand screamed like a baby and spilled hot coffee all over Bruce after Clint jumped down from the vent in his lab the other day."

"To be fair, my AI is _supposed _to warn me when things like that happen, but apparently you, Agent Romanoff, specifically instructed JARVIS to be silent."

"Speaking of Bruce Banner, what is he like? Are he and the Hulk different people? How does that work?" Jimmy asked.

"Bruce is one of the purest guys out there. He's way more incredible than he realizes. He's a dork, and we love that. The Hulk is fiercely protective when it comes to those he cares about and fun fact, he loves knock knock jokes. If you ever want to get the Hulk to turn back into Bruce, you just gotta tell a good joke," Natasha responded.

"And last but not least, what can you tell us about Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes?" Jimmy asked.

"Rhodey's been my best friend since I was a baby face teen at MIT. He walked me home after many wild nights out, and was there for me when some of the worst things happened to me. The man gets pissy with me sometimes, but only when I deserve it. Love you Honey-Bear," Tony blew a kiss. The audience cooed in response.

"Wow, thank you all so much for coming on the show tonight. I'm afraid we're out of time but thank you so much for this enlightening interview about Earth's mightiest heroes!" Jimmy clapped as the audience applauded with him.

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End file.
